Olmsted County names next county attorney

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New Olmsted County Attorney selected

The day's local, regional and national news, detailed events and late-breaking stories are presented by the ABC 6 News Team, along with the latest sports, weather updates including the extended forecast.

(ABC 6 News) — The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners has named the next Olmsted County Attorney.

The new county attorney will be Michael Walters. He will be sworn in on Monday, April 21.

Walters is continuing his career with Olmsted County after serving as managing attorney and will serve the rest of former Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem’s term, who retired in March. That term will end on January 5, 2027.

Related: Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem will retire at end of March

In Walters’ role as managing attorney, he managed the County Attorney’s Office’s adult and child protection division, overseeing juvenile delinquency, child protection, guardianship, and civil commitment files.

Before joining the management team, Walters was a criminal prosecutor, focusing primarily on prosecuting violent felonies. Walters previously spent several years in private practice and as a public defender.

“Michael is an excellent successor for this role to lead the vital work of the County Attorney’s Office. He will serve the residents of Olmsted County well and help ensure a safe community,” shared Olmsted County Board Chair Mark Thein via a press release. “We are also grateful to the other talented candidates who showed interest in serving Olmsted County.”

“Representing and serving the people of Olmsted County is one of the great privileges of my life. I am deeply honored and humbled by the trust that has been placed in me. It will be my mission to repay that trust, today and every day of my career hereafter,” Walters said via a press release.

Walters tells ABC 6 News he plans to run for re-election in 2026.

“The reality is that right now we have an excellent, excellent team of attorneys, and I want to make sure that they can continue to do the work that they are already so talented at,” Walters told ABC 6.

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(ABC 6 News) – A new Olmsted County Attorney will be named at Tuesday night’s Olmsted County Board of Commissioners meeting.

According to the agenda, a vacancy in the county attorney’s office will be filled by appointment.

That vacancy was created after former Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem retired at the end of March. Whoever the board chooses to fill Ostrem’s role will serve out the remaining time of his term, and face a November 2026 election that will decide whether they stay in the role.

The meeting is at 6 p.m., and ABC 6 will be there to find out who the next county attorney will be.